Until today, the app was also unavailable on Android Automotive, Google’s fully featured operating system that’s becoming available on more and more cars.
But in an announcement shared earlier today, the Mountain View-based search giant revealed that YouTube would become available in the car with an Android Automotive version of the app.
The company hasn’t provided too many specifics on this new app, so we don’t even have a specific release date, but this is big news, nonetheless. YouTube is making its way to the car, so users will finally be allowed to watch videos on the larger screens inside the cabin.
Based on Google’s announcement, YouTube will only be available when the car is not in motion. The company says the purpose of this app launch is to make waiting for something less boring, so in theory, YouTube will almost certainly be blocked when the vehicle is in motion.
And this makes perfect sense. There’s basically no reason not to allow YouTube to run when the car is parked, especially when a large screen running Android is already available.
Google claims the YouTube app for Android Automotive is projected to launch at some point this year, but as said, no other specifics have been shared. Most likely, the company will share additional information on this highly anticipated app launch at its developer conference in the summer.
In the meantime, the big question is whether Google plans to bring YouTube to Android Auto as well. At first glance, there’s no reason not to do it in the first place, as YouTube can very well run on Android Auto when the car is not in motion.
At this point, users can still get YouTube to launch on Android Auto, even without rooting their phones, so unlocking the app for everybody is something that just makes sense for both Google and its users.